


Hopeless Wanderers

by sewuwu



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: 2park, Alternate Universe, Angst, Based On 'A Quiet Place', Eventual Fluff, Fluff, Horror, Hurt, I promise, I'm Sorry, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, So If You Don't Want Spoilers For That Don't Read Lmao, Violence, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sewuwu/pseuds/sewuwu
Summary: Day 135. A small non-descript town. Not a sign of life. Once again.Jihoon and Woojin had become a sort of hybrid road-trip buddy duo in the first week of the New World.





	1. Day 135

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! this was inspired by 'A Quiet Place', if you hadn't read the tags already! this is now going to become part of a chaptered fic!!! i'll update asap :')

Day 135.

 

A small non-descript town.

 

Not a sign of life. Once again.

 

Jihoon and Woojin had become a sort of hybrid road-trip buddy duo in the first week of the New World, when they were both trapped in a supply store for 24 hours with no hope of escape. Woojin was bleeding out from the wound on his rib, and Jihoon did everything in his power to help this stranger – he was not about to see another person die, he had seen enough death to last him a lifetime. From that moment on, a quiet companionship formed between the two of them and they silently promised each other that they would get out of there and live on. And they did. And here they were. 132 days later.

 

Nobody really knows what these creatures are. Nobody really knows where they came from. Some people think that they were made by Satan, others think that it was God’s doing, and he is trying to punish the world for all of the awful things that have happened. All Jihoon knows is that 1) the creatures are blind, 2) they have super sensitive hearing, and 3) the world has been silent for 135 days.

 

Oh, and 4) his inherent clumsiness has become the literal bane of his existence.

 

Woojin and himself had become a pretty resourceful duo, despite their differences in skill and knowledge. Woojin was the scavenger, the hunter, the searcher. Jihoon was the look-out, the medic, the cook. They didn’t really need anybody else, but that didn’t stop them from gathering random tagalongs on their travel across the country, looking for… looking for what exactly? Jihoon wasn’t really sure what they were looking for, but he assumed it would be some sort of safe zone away from these awful creatures. They currently had a tagalong with them; a tall, slim guy who went by the name of Jinyoung. He had been pretty choked up when they first found him – he had just lost his best friend and had also lost all sense of purpose, and Jihoon sympathised with that. He saw his mother and his younger brother being ripped from their side of the family truck when they were trying to drive out of town. Nobody had told them not to drive. Nobody had told them not to make noise. Nobody had told them anything. And nobody had told him that he would lose his two reasons to live.

 

His loss of purpose came after the accident. He had stopped the car, ran as far away from the road as he could, and cried as quietly as he could until his eyes dried up. The following days were just a haze of a memory, spent wandering aimlessly, trying to comprehend the extent of the loss he was feeling. He stayed in this dissociated state until he felt a squeeze on his hand, and came to the realisation that there was a bloodied hand on his and it needed his help. And that bloodied hand belonged to Woojin.

 

They were currently looking for a supply store that had not been completely ransacked by locals on the first day of the New World. It was becoming increasingly harder to find even the smallest packet of crackers in any of the stores they had come across, and their food supply was desperately low – and they now had 3 mouths to feed. They set down their backpacks in the alleyway next to the discovered supply store, and went through their inventory to note down the scavenging priorities. Woojin carefully placed the food items on the floor, keeping them in their food groups to make it easier for Jihoon who had pulled out a notepad and was jotting down the numbers as they went. Jinyoung was still new to their system and watched carefully from where he was sat on the floor as the two worked in perfect synchronisation with each other. When the food had been accounted for, Jihoon determined what they needed and wrote it down to show Woojin. Woojin took the note and nodded, heading towards the store by himself. Jihoon frowned slightly and grabbed Woojin’s sleeve. Woojin turned around and looked at Jihoon with a questioning gaze as Jihoon pointed between Woojin and Jinyoung. Woojin realised what Jihoon had meant; he wanted him to take Jinyoung with him. Jihoon was obsessed with ‘safety in numbers’.

 

Woojin smiled slightly and shook his head, mouthing to Jihoon that “Jinyoung looks tired. Let him rest.”

 

Jihoon sighed quietly when he looked at Jinyoung again. Woojin was right, Woojin was _always_ right. He nodded at Woojin, reluctantly, and set his notepad down and walked towards him. “I’m coming”, he mouthed back to his partner.

 

Woojin gave him a questioning gaze again and raised his eyebrows, as if to ask “are you sure about that?” To which, Jihoon nodded again, sure of his decision this time. Before they left for the store, Jihoon gave Jinyoung a torch and a bottle of water. The poor kid looked drained.

 

When the pair stepped into the store, the darkness that shrouded them was overwhelming. The lights had stopped working weeks ago in many of the towns, so this wasn’t a shock to them, but the black-out tinted windows letting little to no light into the store was a bit disorientating. Jihoon passed a torch to Woojin and turned his own on, shining it on the ground to avoid stepping on anything that would make a sound. Woojin pointed at the opposite end of the shop and nodded, signalling for Jihoon to start searching in that area.

 

Jihoon wasn’t used to this side of their routine. He was never the one to go into the stores and search for things. He was the brains of their team. Woojin was the stealthy one in this world. Nevertheless, Jihoon tried his best to stay calm as he kept an eye on the ground whilst he made his way down the aisle at a painstakingly cautious speed. He was nervous. Jihoon wasn’t having much luck, slowly turning a few products around on the shelves to eye up their contents before ultimately disregarding them seemed to be the standard. He tried to spot where Woojin was in the store but couldn’t see him through the shelves between them. Jihoon just hoped Woojin was having better luck than he was.

 

As he was looking at the use-by date on a particular can, Jihoon went to step forward to get a better look at the item behind it. Just as he was about to set a foot down, Woojin came out from nowhere and pushed him back quickly, but gently, and placed his hand over Jihoon’s mouth, in case he let out a startled gasp. Jihoon looked at Woojin with wide eyes and when Woojin was sure Jihoon wouldn’t make a sound, he slowly let go of Jihoon’s face and pointed down to a crushed Coca-Cola can an inch in front of Jihoon’s foot. Jihoon didn’t see it. Jihoon could’ve alerted the creatures. Jihoon could’ve gotten them both killed. Woojin, seemingly knowing where Jihoon’s train of thought was going, placed his hands on Jihoon’s cheeks and gave him a soft smile. “It’s okay”, he mouthed, “we’re okay.” Jihoon placed his own hands over Woojin’s and took a deep breath. Woojin could’ve been mad at Jihoon for this. Woojin _should’ve_ been mad for the amount of times Jihoon’s clumsiness had almost ended their lives. But he wasn't. He cared too much about Jihoon to be mad at him, and Jihoon was grateful for that.

 

They continued to look around the shop together, their torches lighting up the different shelves as they tried to find something edible. Woojin walked ahead, an expert in being cautious without the sluggish speed that Jihoon was forced to have. Jihoon searched the top shelves of the aisles in the hopes of finding something that everyone else may have missed in their rush to get to safety. As his spirit to continue searching dwindled, Jihoon suddenly came across what seemed to be a box full of crackers on the very top shelf. He tried to reach for the box on the tips of his toes, his fingers brushing the box slightly, but not enough for him to get a firm grip on it. He tried again, exerting his energy into making himself even just a centimetre taller. Straining his calf muscles to push himself even more, he almost grabs the box, but misses it by the width of a hair. Frustrated, he let out a quiet huff, and looked around for Woojin, who is out of sight once again.

 

Jihoon evaluated the shelf for one second and thought that the metal that it was made from was sturdy enough to take his weight for a couple of seconds. He placed his torch on the ground and tentatively placed a foot on the shelf. He was right, it seemed secure. Giving the aisle one more look in case Woojin was there, he placed his other foot on the shelf and reached up for the box. His fingers felt the rough edges of the cardboard and clamped down on it, before dragging it forward slowly, to not make too much noise. As the box came away from the shelf completely, the weight of it made Jihoon lean away from the shelf, his feet and his other hand still on the metal shelves. The motion of Jihoon leaning back caused the shelves to lean, and by the time Jihoon realised what was happening, it was too late. The shelf continued to fall and

 

**_CRASH._ **

****

**_CRASH._ **

****

**_CRASH._ **

****

**_CRASH._ **

****

**_CRASH._ **

****

The shelves continued to fall, like a giant metal domino set. And Jihoon was trapped.

 

The sound of metal crashing on metal reverberated in Jihoon’s mind, and the panic began to settle in. Woojin. He may be trapped, but Woojin needed to get out of here. As he thought this, said boy came running towards where Jihoon was trapped, and he looked helpless.

 

“Jihoon… I-I’m going to get you out of here. I promise,” he whispered as he tried to push the metal shelving back up, flinching at the grinding noise it made. He pushed with all of his energy but the shelving unit wouldn’t budge.

 

Jihoon looked sadly towards Woojin and shook his head as he whispered, “you need to get out of here. Now. They are coming. You _know_ how fast they are.”

 

Woojin shook his head frantically. He whispered “no” to himself over and over again as he uselessly shoved at the metal. His knuckles becoming white due to his tightening grip.

 

“Woojin” Jihoon said at his normal speaking volume, “Leave.”

 

As Woojin heard Jihoon’s change in volume, he seemed to realise the finality of the situation. He stepped away from the shelf, let go of his grip on it, and looked at Jihoon one more time before running out of the store.

 

As he heard the familiar cries of the hideous creatures that plagued their world, Jihoon closed his eyes and thought of everyone that had made a positive impact on his life. His mother, who had always been there for him and had taken care of him for so long, who loved him so unconditionally. His younger brother, who had taught him to see the beauty in the world through innocent eyes, and had caused him to laugh on even his darkest days.

 

And Woojin, who had taught him that even hopeless wanderers deserve to be loved.


	2. Constant Flow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!! sorry this update took a little bit longer than anticipated... uni work has overwhelmed me this week.
> 
> enjoy!

“Woojin. Leave.”

 

Woojin blinked back the tears forming in his eyes, and stepped away from the shelving. He took in Jihoon’s face one last time. Of course Woojin didn’t want the current Jihoon to be his last memory of him, he didn’t want to close his eyes and see the panicked look in Jihoon’s eyes, the blood slowly dripping down his face from what Woojin assumed to be a wound on the top of his head. He wanted to remember _his_ Jihoon; the Jihoon with the soft face, with big, friendly eyes, his button nose, his perfect smile.

 

After half a second of looking at his companion, Woojin ran out of the store and towards the alleyway – he had to get himself and Jinyoung away from the area. As he ran, the tears began to fall, and Woojin did not do anything to stop them. Jinyoung was already standing with a terrified look on his face when Woojin got to him, and the sight of Woojin’s tear-soaked face seemed to make him even more apprehensive. Woojin grabbed the bag from Jinyoung and pointed back towards the way they had come into the town, through a damp and swampy forest, and whispered “run” to Jinyoung. The two of them quickly, but lightly, ran towards the trees and did not look back as they heard the cries of the creatures behind them.

 

They only stopped running once they had reached the river that they had camped at the night before, and they both collapsed onto the ground. After a few minutes, Jinyoung slowly dragged his body up and started sorting out their bags and detached the tents from the bottom of them. As he started to build the tent, he kept an eye on the still figure in his peripheral.

 

Woojin hadn’t moved since they had arrived at the river. He laid on the swampy grass with his head turned towards the river, watching the constant flow pass him by. The river was loud enough that they could speak to one another at a normal volume, as the noise of the rushing water would drown their voices out. But Woojin didn’t want to speak. He knew it was childish, but what was the point of speaking if Jihoon wasn’t there? Jinyoung didn’t know Woojin like Jihoon knew Woojin. Jinyoung couldn’t replace Jihoon like that. Jihoon was irreplaceable. But Jihoon wasn’t eternal, and this was something that Woojin had not considered, until today’s events _made_ him realise this. And he hated it. He felt so raw and fragile, like half of him had been ripped away – which was essentially what had happened, because Woojin couldn’t survive in this awful world without his partner, his companion.

 

Thinking about going on without Jihoon made him feel numb, and he could feel his breath becoming shallower and quicker by the second. His mind was going a million miles an hour thinking about all of the ways he had relied on Jihoon, and how he truly wasn’t going to make it without him. He grabbed at the grass underneath him to try and keep himself grounded, but his breathing wouldn’t slow down, and he could feel tears running down his face again. He thought he could feel a hand on his shoulder and flinched away from it, curling into himself and squeezing his eyes shut in attempt to stop the tears.

 

He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have, for when he opened his eyes, the sun had disappeared and there were thousands of tiny stars above him.

 

“Hey,” Jinyoung whispered from where he was sat near Woojin. He had a bowl of what looked like vegetable stew in his hand and he offered it to Woojin with a sad, seemingly sympathetic smile, “I know it doesn’t look good, but it tastes okay.” Woojin slowly sat up and shook his head. The pit of emotions inside of his stomach at that moment were so overwhelming, he knew he would throw his dinner back up if he tried to eat some of it, and he didn’t want to hurt Jinyoung’s feelings. Jinyoung nodded and smiled again as he placed the bowl with their bags. He walked back towards Woojin and sat down next to him.

 

“Do you think one of those is Jihoon-hyung?” Jinyoung whispered as he looked up at the stars in the sky. Woojin looked up with him and smiled at that thought.

 

“It would be nice if he was. That would mean he would be keeping an…” Woojin began to sniffle, but covered it with a cough as he tried his hardest to keep his composure. “He would be keeping an eye on us. Making sure we were staying together… ‘Safety in numbers’ remember?” He chuckled sadly, wiping at his face. He was tired of crying. He wasn’t even sure how his eyes were able to produce this many tears in one day. Jinyoung sighed quietly and faced Woojin, “it’s okay to cry, you know? It’s something you have to do now and again…” Woojin knew this. He wasn’t scared of crying. He was just tired of it. It didn’t bring Jihoon back, so what was the point in it? He had accidentally voiced that last thought and Jinyoung nodded in understanding.

 

“I felt the exact same when I lost my…” Jinyoung paused, “friend, Daehwi. You guys found me about an hour after he... y’know… and I had gotten to the point you’re at right now. The frustration you feel when you realise how useless you are. How useless your tears are. How hopeless you are without your other half. That’s what Jihoon was for you, right?”

 

Woojin blushed slightly at Jinyoung’s phrasing and picked at the grass next to him so Jinyoung couldn’t see the blood rushing in his cheeks. “I mean, y-yeah. He was my friend, my travel companion I guess, if that’s what you mean.” Jinyoung smirked slightly at Woojin’s flustered rambling.

 

“Just friends, huh? You could’ve fooled me…” Jinyoung got up as he said this, grabbing some of the pots he had used for their dinner and started to clean them in the river water. Woojin watched him carefully, a slight frown on his face as he thought about what Jinyoung said. What did Jinyoung mean by that? Did he think that Woojin and Jihoon were… together? Like, _together_ together? That was absurd. Jihoon was just tagging along with Woojin because he felt like he had to. It was purely for survival reasons for the both of them… right?

 

That didn’t sit well with Woojin, once he started to think about it some more. He had cared for Jihoon. He wanted Jihoon to be warm and safe at all times, and Jihoon was a figure in Woojin’s life that he couldn’t replace. His relationship with Jihoon surpassed what was expected of a survival group. He would’ve sacrificed himself for Jihoon. He should’ve done that back in the store. He had failed Jihoon and he was never going to see him ever again. He had lost his other half.

Woojin quickly blinked back the tears in his eyes and stood up abruptly. “I’m going to bed,” he whispered to Jinyoung as he walked back up the muddy bank towards their tent. He slowly got into his tattered sleeping bag and shut his eyes. He thought of the boy with the soft face, big, friendly eyes, a button nose, and a perfect smile as he fell asleep.


	3. A Flickering Ember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!!! im sorry this took so long, and its only a small update but i am FINALLY done with my university work and i am free!!!!! i will be finishing this story this week, and ill get started on some new ones!
> 
> i hope you enjoy :')

It was so dark. So very dark.

 

And silent. So very silent.

 

It was almost suffocating. It was the kind of suffocating isolation that could change a person if they were left alone in it for too long.

 

And it was so cold. So very _very_ cold.

 

This experience couldn’t be too dissimilar from what it must be like to spend an evening alone in the middle of the Arctic Circle. It was numbing.

 

But, wait…

 

The numbing sensation wasn’t from that. No. His entire being was numb. _Why_ was he so numb? But when he thought about it, _why_ was he alive? He shouldn’t be alive.

 

Jihoon was in shock.

 

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around carefully. He was still in the store, but it looked like it had been ripped apart by a bulldozer – the wall in front of him was in crumbles. But how did he survive that? The creature should have ripped him out of the store and torn him apart, just like the wall of the store. He looked down at his body and gasped quietly. There was his answer.

 

The creature must have pushed the metal shelving in its frenzied attack and knocked them back the other way, in a sort of reverse domino kind of way. And Jihoon had been hidden from the creature’s view, by being crushed by the shelving on top of him. The crushing sensation had numbed him… had saved him.

 

His legs must have been smashed to pieces because of this entire ordeal, and the sudden realisation hit Jihoon in a wave of panic. He was stuck in that store, and he was going to die there, for sure. He had survived for _nothing._ He contemplated shouting out, so the monster could come back and get what it missed the first time. As he opened his mouth, one thought made him hesitate.

 

Woojin.

 

He needed to get back to Woojin. He had been given a second chance to see his friend and he shouldn’t give up just like that. He needed to at least try.

 

Jihoon looked around and spotted what he needed on the shelf underneath him. He moved his free arm towards the shelving and grabbed a wooden spoon and stuffed it in his mouth. He was going to attempt to move his legs and he needed to do anything to stop himself from crying out at the excruciating pain he assumed he would be in. Once he had gotten used to the feeling of the wood in his dry mouth, he breathed deeply for a few seconds to calm himself down. He bit down on it with all of his strength as he pushed at the shelving on top of him and pulled his legs. The sensation of pain was overwhelming and he could feel his vision wavering as he went on. But he _had_ to do this. He blinked through the tears and kept pulling himself, muffled cries surrounding the spoon in his mouth. He dragged himself out just enough to be free of the metal prison around him and he collapsed, dropping the spoon out of his mouth as he began to breathe again.

 

As he looked at the blood surrounding his legs, Jihoon’s eyes slowly began to close. He had fought off the waves of unconsciousness for so long and it was suddenly becoming too much to bear. As the darkness and the silence made their way back into Jihoon’s life, Jihoon promised himself one thing: he would get to Woojin tomorrow. He _needed_ to get to Woojin tomorrow.


	4. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is!!!!! the final chapter!!! im lowkey emotional about this, but ive got more 2park aus planned in the future so it will all be okay!!!
> 
> thanks to everyone for their kind words and support, and i hope you enjoy!

 

Day 3.

 

An unkempt riverbank.

 

A life without Jihoon.

 

Woojin didn’t mean for the departure of his best friend to result in the days being restarted, but it didn’t feel right to continue the count without him. But in his defence, trying to live without Jihoon did feel like he was going back to the beginning again. It _did_ feel like a new world, and it was a world that Woojin feared and disliked. Jinyoung tried his hardest to fill in for Jihoon’s role, and he did a good job most of the time, but Woojin missed Jihoon’s stews. He missed Jihoon’s careful hands when he wrapped bandages around Woojin’s injuries. He missed Jihoon’s furrowed brow as he took in their surroundings and calculated whether it was safe for them to continue on. He missed Jihoon.

 

But it didn’t help to dwell on it, so Woojin did his best to distract himself by teaching Jinyoung how to fish in the fast-flowing river, and how to season their meals with the limited supplies that they could find. It helped that Jinyoung was a quick learner, and Woojin actually found that he was enjoying himself at times, despite everything that was going on in his mind. Jinyoung was a good kid and they got along well, but Woojin could tell that he was trying his best to distract Woojin and it made his heart hurt. He couldn’t fathom how Jinyoung was able to continue on and be so positive when he had lost Daehwi not even three weeks ago, but Jinyoung was one of the bravest and strongest people Woojin had ever known and he was grateful for his company.

 

Woojin wanted to put Jinyoung’s new fishing abilities to the test, so he sent him to the river with the goal of catching their dinner by himself. Woojin smiled at Jinyoung’s flustered expression when he said this to him, but Woojin believed in Jinyoung and the younger boy flushed slightly when Woojin told him that.

 

Woojin had taken on the role of the fire man for the evening and walked away from the camp to gather materials. He hummed quietly to himself as he collected rocks and firewood together from their surroundings. They were getting low on supplies in the forest immediately around them and they were going to have to move along the river soon if they were going to survive the cold winter nights that were ahead of them. As silly as it may have been, a part of Woojin couldn’t move on from their spot, in case Jihoon _did_ somehow survive. He needed to be able to find them, and this was the last spot that they had all been at together. Woojin wouldn’t tell Jinyoung this though, in case Jinyoung decided that Woojin needed to move on from Jihoon and packed their things up for the both of them without Woojin being aware of it. Knowing his younger friend, it was an irrational fear, but it was something Woojin couldn’t shake off.

 

He stopped himself from thinking about that kind of thing by concentrating on his task. He examined the sticks near his feet and tested them for moisture, it hadn’t rained in a couple of days but it was better to be safe than sorry. As he combed through the area, he became aware of the crunch of his feet against the dead leaves and he slowed down his steps and tread lightly, as to not break the perfect silence around him any further. As much as the silence was a hindrance to their survival and Woojin’s thoughts, he had grown used to existing within it, and actually took comfort in it at times, and it was times like this that he appreciated the silence being the one constant throughout their new chaotic lives.

 

As he went to pick up the pile of sticks and rocks from the ground, he heard a crash in the bushes behind him. He stood up abruptly and stayed still for a second, listening out for the tell-tale scream of the monsters. Once he was certain that they were not the cause of the commotion, Woojin crept quietly towards the source. He pulled his knife out as he walked – as he said before, it was better to be safe than sorry. When he reached his and Jinyoung’s makeshift campsite he spotted the damaged foliage in his peripheral, and he slowly walked up to it with his knife held tightly in his hand. Nearing the crushed plants, Woojin slowly sunk into a crouched position to keep himself from being spotted and raised his knife in front of him. As he looked towards the area, he confirmed that it was not one of the creatures, but he kept a strong grip on his knife. The thing before him was breathing quickly underneath the plants that covered it, Woojin thought that it seemed like the thing was struggling to stay alive. As Woojin went to take another step, the thing groaned quietly and Woojin froze in his spot.

 

The thing was a human.

 

The human was Jihoon.

 

Woojin dropped the knife and shuddered. He was going to hurt Jihoon with that knife. He would never have forgiven himself. He stood up and stumbled towards Jihoon, whose breathing had slowed down in the seconds that Woojin had taken to rid himself of his weapon. Woojin took a sharp intake of breath and pushed the leaves covering Jihoon out of the way and turned his best friend over so he could see his face. He looked awful. His normally glowing skin was ashy and pale, and his lips were cracked and dry. There was dried blood all over Jihoon’s face and hands, and the sheer amount of it made Woojin panic. He seemed to be unconscious, which meant Woojin was going to have to help him to the riverbank. Woojin looked back towards the camp and found that Jinyoung was nowhere to be seen. Woojin had no choice but to carefully pick Jihoon up in a bridal fashion, and manage to carry him back to his tent himself.

 

As he set Jihoon down on his sleeping bag, he saw the full extent of Jihoon’s injuries. A cut on his head from when Woojin first left him; a variety of scratches and deeper cuts on his left arm; a deep wound on his right leg, and his left leg…  it looked like it had been completely smashed up. Just thinking about the pain that Jihoon had endured getting himself from the store to where Woojin had found him tore Woojin apart and a choked sob rattled his body. He bent over his friend’s lifeless body and cried for what felt like a lifetime.

 

He had his best friend back, but why did it have to hurt _so bad_?

 

After explaining the entire situation to Jinyoung, Woojin didn’t leave Jihoon’s side. He couldn’t leave Jihoon’s side. He needed to be there when he woke up. Whilst waiting for his friend to open his eyes, Woojin tended to the injuries before him to the best of his ability. Jinyoung fetched Woojin water to help clean the wounds, and rewrapped bandages that Woojin couldn’t do properly, but he was sure to give Woojin as much space as possible and rarely visited the tent. Woojin felt guilty but was grateful.

 

Whilst staring at his friend, Woojin was suddenly aware that the universe had given him a second chance, and he wasn’t going to waste it. He had to let Jihoon know how he felt. He had thought about it a lot and it was clear to him that his feelings were not platonic, and it didn’t matter if Jihoon didn’t feel the same way, he just wanted Jihoon to know. He wasn’t even sure _why_ he wanted Jihoon to know, but the secret was becoming overwhelming to Woojin and he felt like he was going to burst.

 

So he sat there for three more days.

 

Jihoon did wake up a few times during those three days, but he wasn’t awake for more than a few minutes. When he first woke up, he was so stunned to see Woojin that he immediately closed his eyes again as if he was convinced he was in a dream. When he opened his eyes again and looked at Woojin, a small smile formed on his face - it melted Woojin’s heart. However, the smile quickly turned to a grimace and a groan as Jihoon felt all of his injuries at once. He went to grab Woojin with his one uninjured arm, but Woojin pushed his arm away carefully and stroked his hair to try and calm him down, wiping the tears that slipped down Jihoon’s face away as he blinked back his own. Jihoon quickly went back to sleep after that. The other times ended up in a similar way, and it was hard for Woojin to sit through.

 

On the fourth day, Woojin was woken up by someone tapping his cheek. He opened his eyes slowly and looked towards the tent’s opening, expecting to see Jinyoung with bandages or food. When he saw that nobody was there, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion for half a second before whipping his head around towards Jihoon. His best friend was sat up and was smiling softly at Woojin, and the sight of it made Woojin’s heart leap.

 

He sat up quickly and smiled brightly, but in disbelief. “Y-you’re… you’re awake!”

 

Jihoon laughed quietly at Woojin’s outburst and rolled his eyes, “always the observant one, Wooj…” Woojin flushed at the nickname, it felt like he hadn’t heard that in _years_. Jihoon continued on, “I didn’t want to wake you up, you seemed so peaceful…”

 

“You should’ve woken me up. You’re more important.”

 

Jihoon was the one to blush this time, and he shook his head. “You don’t mean that… I’m a liability…” he gestured towards his body, “just look at the mess I got myself into…”

 

Woojin took Jihoon’s unharmed hand into his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze, “you’re not a liability. Don’t you _ever_ think that. I’m just glad you’re here…” Jihoon wiped at Woojin’s tear-filled eyes and sighed before taking Woojin’s hand back in his.

 

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again… Y’know… I thought of you as I…” Jihoon grimaced at the memory, “yeah… I was pretty torn up about that…”

 

Woojin’s heart surged yet again. Jihoon _thought_ of him? The same way Woojin thought of Jihoon? He couldn’t help the huge smile that formed on his face and he looked at Jihoon again. “I think… the universe gave us a second chance.” Jihoon nodded and smiled back at him. “And I don’t want to waste it…”

 

“Yeah… I was pretty lucky this time. So, I don’t want to waste it either.”

 

Woojin looked into Jihoon’s eyes to find something, _anything_ that told him that he was wrong about the vibes that he was receiving. But Jihoon was just looking back at him with his soft face, his big, friendly eyes, his button nose, and his perfect smile. Woojin was washed with a sense of relief and safety that the silence could never have given him, and it was something that he purely associated with Jihoon. It felt like home. Jihoon was his home.

 

Woojin smiled softly at Jihoon as he rested his other hand on Jihoon’s shoulders. Woojin watched Jihoon’s lips form into a smile similar to his own before leaning forward. Jihoon’s lips fell open slightly as he met Woojin’s, and Woojin could feel his smile against his lips.

 

The kiss wasn’t the sweet, feather-soft kiss that Woojin had been told about countless times. It was rough, clumsy and perfect in its own imperfect way. But that summed them up. Rough, clumsy and perfect in their own imperfect way, and Woojin wouldn’t change that for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading ^_^
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated!!! and if you want to chat/scream, im @sewuwu on twitter!


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